June 06, 2013

Hoping My Little Girl Never Loses Her Sparkle.

On vaction in the Bahamas 2013.

This past week I went to my parents house to visit after coming home from vacation. When I got there my mom gave me a letter she had been holding on to. It was a letter from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nancy Bingham to my parents while I was a student of hers. I’ve always been fond of Mrs. Bingham and have great memories from her first grade classroom.

When I read the letter above, my heart hurt a little bit. I don’t think I had ever read the letter or even knew about it before Monday but the concerns were all very familiar to me. Stuttering is not something that happens much anymore but I still speak fast and sometimes slur my words together. Something I still work on as an adult and most likely always will.

Story telling is part of the human experience and I feel it is instrumental in bonding relationships. As an adult I hope I have become better at knowing when it’s appropriate or not to share a story. There’s nothing more uninteresting than a person incapable of listening.

The part that stings was that it reminds me of conversations I have had with Presley’s teacher and her learning style. Presley is a very caring, imaginative and artistic child and we’re so thankful for that. She also has trouble staying focused and loves to share stories. Luckily she had a wonderful teacher that understood her learning style and worked with Presley in a way that she could be successful and excited about learning.

My heart ached because I know how difficult school was for me all the way through college (I never expected I would actually graduate)... It has been suggested to me on several occasions that I most likely have ADD. Lucky for me it was not so severe that I was able to be successful without medication or proper diagnosis. Having professors let me test in their office, instead of in auditoriums with 300 other students was crucial (so I could stay focused). Tutoring in calculus was the only way I passed.

The good news is that we understand her learning style and she can and will be successful. Reading the letter brought to my attention the fact that Presley doesn’t stutter. She is still in the very early stages of learning and her experience quite possibly will be different than mine.

I’ve spent the last few days processing my thoughts. Presley and I bond when we can do creative things like, draw, work in our art journals or craft. Recently I taught her how to make a friendship bracelet and I hope to teacher her to knit soon. The bright side of it all is I’m pretty sure I’ll know how to connect with her and we’ll most likely we’ll shift gears often.

Comments

Hoping My Little Girl Never Loses Her Sparkle.

On vaction in the Bahamas 2013.

This past week I went to my parents house to visit after coming home from vacation. When I got there my mom gave me a letter she had been holding on to. It was a letter from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nancy Bingham to my parents while I was a student of hers. I’ve always been fond of Mrs. Bingham and have great memories from her first grade classroom.

When I read the letter above, my heart hurt a little bit. I don’t think I had ever read the letter or even knew about it before Monday but the concerns were all very familiar to me. Stuttering is not something that happens much anymore but I still speak fast and sometimes slur my words together. Something I still work on as an adult and most likely always will.

Story telling is part of the human experience and I feel it is instrumental in bonding relationships. As an adult I hope I have become better at knowing when it’s appropriate or not to share a story. There’s nothing more uninteresting than a person incapable of listening.

The part that stings was that it reminds me of conversations I have had with Presley’s teacher and her learning style. Presley is a very caring, imaginative and artistic child and we’re so thankful for that. She also has trouble staying focused and loves to share stories. Luckily she had a wonderful teacher that understood her learning style and worked with Presley in a way that she could be successful and excited about learning.

My heart ached because I know how difficult school was for me all the way through college (I never expected I would actually graduate)... It has been suggested to me on several occasions that I most likely have ADD. Lucky for me it was not so severe that I was able to be successful without medication or proper diagnosis. Having professors let me test in their office, instead of in auditoriums with 300 other students was crucial (so I could stay focused). Tutoring in calculus was the only way I passed.

The good news is that we understand her learning style and she can and will be successful. Reading the letter brought to my attention the fact that Presley doesn’t stutter. She is still in the very early stages of learning and her experience quite possibly will be different than mine.

I’ve spent the last few days processing my thoughts. Presley and I bond when we can do creative things like, draw, work in our art journals or craft. Recently I taught her how to make a friendship bracelet and I hope to teacher her to knit soon. The bright side of it all is I’m pretty sure I’ll know how to connect with her and we’ll most likely we’ll shift gears often.